Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018 - 8

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

LEGAL LANE
Detailer loses suit against
Case dealerships in Ohio

An Ohio detailer has lost its case alleging
breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation by Honda and Hyundai dealerships
and their dealership group.
The state Court of Appeals refused to reinstate a lawsuit that accused Rick Case Honda
in Euclid, Rick Case Hyundai in Cleveland and
Rick Case Automotive Group, headquartered
in Sunrise, Fla., of breaching an exclusive arrangement to provide auto detailing services.
The suit also alleged fraudulent misrepresentation. The detailer, Spit Shine A One Detailer in Cleveland Heights, will not appeal the
decision, its lawyer said.
Spit Shine began servicing the two Case
dealerships in 2011. But by 2015, the court decision said, both stores had stopped using the
company.
The suit, filed in Cuyahoga County Court of
Common Pleas, contended that the dealerships violated their contractual obligations
and failed to provide the required 30-day cancellation notice. The detailer claimed lost revenue of more than $160,000, according to its
lawyer, Jason Carter, of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
The stores denied liability and said they gave
proper notice of cancellation. A lower court
judge dismissed the case without a trial.
In upholding that ruling, the appeals court
cited a series of flaws in the lawsuit. It said Spit
Shine hadn't provided copies of a contract
with the Hyundai store or the dealership
group. It also said the detailer presented no
factual allegations that could make the dealership group liable.
In addition, a contract that the detailer did
present had no provision for exclusivity, the
three-member court panel said in an opinion
written by Judge Frank Celebrezze Jr.
As for fraudulent misrepresentation, the
court said Spit Shine offered no details on who
made allegedly misleading statements about
exclusivity, what those statements purportedly were and when they were made.

PAGE 8

FEBRUARY 2018

The Case group declined to comment on the
court ruling.

Lawsuit over service text
messages dismissed

A proposed class-action lawsuit that accused a Florida Volkswagen dealership of illegally using automated text messages to contact service customers has been dismissed.
The plaintiff, April Gillmore, voluntarily
dropped the case against Lokey Volkswagen,
of Clearwater, Fla., after her lawyer received
information "about the extensive preventative
compliance audits and painstaking steps taken to conform with Telephone Consumer Protection Act guidelines," according to Recall
Masters Inc., which sent the text messages on
behalf of the dealership.
Recall Masters has helped about a half-dozen client dealerships successfully resolve
complaints related to compliance with the
federal law, President Christopher Miller said.
Dealerships need to be aware that automated
recall notifications aren't considered telemarketing under TCPA, but they should avoid including service or sales solicitations in such
messages, Miller said.
Although TCPA litigation against automakers and lenders is more common, Lokey VW
isn't the only dealership to have faced a service-related suit. Last August, a federal judge
in New Jersey threw out a similar case against
Greek Brook Mitsubishi by a former service
customer who received a robocall to confirm
his satisfaction with accident-related repairs.

Dealership sued in
fatal crash over floor mat

What happens when a crash victim blames a
manufacturing defect for a fatal accident, but
the automaker blames a dealership's service
department?
In one such case, a British Columbia judge
let plaintiff Jessica Zhu add claims against a
Vancouver dealership even though she
doesn't believe it negligently serviced her 2007

Aston Martin DB9, causing it to accelerate
suddenly to over 124 mph. The 2013 accident
killed one person and injured three others.
Zhu is seeking damages from MCL Motor
Cars, claiming the dealership didn't properly
inspect her DB9 to determine whether an aftermarket mat was properly fastened to the
floor. The store also didn't warn her that the
mat could interfere with the accelerator pedal
or recommend its removal, she alleges.
Zhu primarily blames alleged defects by Aston
Martin Lagonda, Ford Motor Co. and other companies involved in designing and manufacturing
her vehicle's engine management system.
Justice Nitya Iyer of the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that Zhu can add the dealership to her lawsuit because Aston Martin and
Ford previously accused it of negligent service.

Court: Injured tech not
entitled to workers' comp

A service technician with a history of back
and knee problems failed to show he is entitled to workers' compensation benefits, the
Mississippi Court of Appeals has ruled.
Charles Wright, who worked at Turan-Foley
Motors Inc. in Gulfport, Miss., for about 13
years, didn't provide medical evidence or expert opinion that a work-related injury aggravated his pre-existing medical conditions, the
court said.
It upheld a state Workers' Compensation
Commission ruling in favor of the dealership.
The decision said Wright reported back and
knee pain and a swollen knee after a busier-than-normal workday in October 2013. He
reported knee pain while sliding out from underneath a vehicle in December 2013.
He retired soon after the second incident,
claiming his knees were too painful to keep
working. The court cited testimony by the dealership's physician that Wright's condition resulted
from "longstanding chronic degenerative issues
- not any work-related accident or injury."
- Eric Freedman
foj@autonews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Journal - February 2018